Page 34 of Closer Than You Know

“Kayleigh Marshall.”

“That’s the one I don’t know,” Vera mentioned. The other two, the males, were sons of people she had known growing up in Fayetteville. Oliver Randall was the son of Scott Randall, the guy with the fruit orchards and pumpkin farm. His family had made quite the name for itself in Lincoln and numerous surrounding counties with that farm. Vance Honeycutt’s father owned the most popular restaurant on the square—the one his grandfather had started many decades ago.

Kayleigh was the only one who hadn’t grown up in Lincoln County.

“Her family moved to Fayetteville when she was already at UT,” Bent explained. “She actually lives in Nashville, but her mother died last year, so she spends a lot of time in Fayetteville with her dad.”

“The three have nothing in common,” Vera said, recalling the details, “based on your reports. Does Baker’s abduction change that?”

Bent glanced at her as he made a turn onto Molino Road. “It does. Randall and Baker were on the high school football team together.”

Vera shrugged. “It’s a small town. It was bound to happen.”

Bent nodded slowly. “Except Randall’s uncle was the football coach, and there was some rumbling about favoritism. I don’t know the details, but I did hear he retired in the middle of a season.”

Vera scoffed. “Let me guess, Elizabeth and her husband were the ones rumbling.”

“It was all kept very hush-hush, so I can’t say for sure.” Bent slowed for a turn.

“If Nolan was involved, you know it was,” Vera argued. “It’s the most logical scenario.”

Bent glanced at her. “You only say that because you don’t like her.”

“As my mama always said, you made your bed, now lie in it. I truly hope Nolan is released, like the others, and that he’s okay. But nothing in this world is going to make me like Boggie.” And that was assuming the little bugger wasn’t the Time Thief himself. Frankly, the idea of Nolan kidnapping three other people, holding and drugging them before releasing them, and then pretending to kidnap himself was a little over the top. Even if the notion did keep nagging at her.

Bent said no more, but Vera recognized how hard he was working to keep a smile from making an appearance. Most folks only tolerated Elizabeth. She was, as Vera’s mama would say, a mess.

Vera set her gaze straight ahead. There were parts of her past that weren’t worth the effort of analyzing, and her dislike of Elizabeth Baker was one of them.

A final turn into the neighborhood called the Avenues, and a few moments later Bent parked. The Marshall home was a newer one. Brick. Modern. Certainly not the typical style of the neighborhood. Probably had windows that worked and locked the way they were supposed to and weren’t bloated with layers of paint.

“Kayleigh hasn’t gone back to Nashville?” she asked, spotting a car with Davidson County plates.

Bent shut off the engine. “Her father had a health scare while she was missing. She doesn’t want to leave him until he’s back on his feet.”

“Health scare?” Vera nudged.

“He started drinking again and took a tumble down the stairs.” Bent reached for his door. “He’s a recovering alcoholic.”

Damn. She thought of Eve and the idea of how alcoholism was a forever battle. “I’m glad she can be here for him.”

Bent nodded. “He’s a lucky guy.”

Kayleigh Marshall was waiting on the front porch when they reached it. “My father is napping; do you mind if we go around to the screened porch? I’ve started a fire in the outdoor fireplace.”

“Sure,” Bent agreed. “We’ll follow you.”

Kayleigh led the way around the corner of the house to the patio. Not only was there a huge fireplace but there was also an outdoor kitchen and a lovely sitting area. Very nice.

Once they were seated around the roaring fire, Kayleigh made a face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think about refreshments. Would you like coffee?”

“No,” Vera hastened to say. She’d had far too much caffeine today. “Thank you.”

“None for me,” Bent said.

Kayleigh seemed to relax then. “All right. You said you wanted to talk about what happened.”

“Kayleigh,” Vera spoke up, “we really appreciate your time and don’t want to keep you any longer than necessary. I’ve read the reports including your statements, so really I just have two questions.”

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